Helical-spring-hooking machine.



F. H. SLEEPER.

HELICAL SPRING BOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 25, 19x2,

9 Patented Dec. 30, {913 3 SHEETS-SHZZBT l.

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" APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1912.

1,088,223. Patented Dec.301913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W12 1471655195 E I Inve ni'or I Fra nk H 51626131911 @w gwm y (42% FRANKH. SLEEPER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

nnLIcnL-sinmenoomne MACHINE.

Application filedN'ovember 25, 1912. Serial No. 733,321.

7 '0 oil whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK. I-I. SLEEPER, acitizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at Worcester, in the countyof Worcester and Commonwealth' of Massachusetts, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Helical-Spring-Hooking Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification, accompanied by drawings forming apart ofthe same.

to The object of my presentinvention is to provide an efficient andsimple mechanism for forming the hooks upon so called helical springs,and it has for its objects to simplify the construction, and to increasethe accuracy of operation of-this class of machines, particularly thatpart of the machine which relates to'the feeding mechanism by which ahelical wire coil is fed to the. machine in predetermined lengths. Theseob ects, among others, I accomplish by'means of the construction andarrangement of parts as hereinafter described, the

novel features being pointed out in the annexed claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan viewof a machine embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is an end View. Fig.3 is a side view showing the feeding mechanism. Fig. l is an end' viewshowing the end opposite that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detailed viewshowing a portion of the feeding and cutting mechanism for feeding acontinuous spiral coil and severing the same to form individual helicalsprings. Fig. (5 is a plan viewin section of a portion of the feedingfrom the machine.

mechanism. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a por tion of the adjustable hookforming mecha nism. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism for ejectinga completed hooked spring Fig. 9 represents a completed helical springhaving hooks formed uponits opposite ends. Fig. 10 represents acompleted helical spring having hooks formed on its ends by turning theend coils of the spring into the axial plane of the spring.

Similar reference figures refer to similar parts in the different views.

.Referring to the accompanying drawings, ldenotes a table upon which theoperative parts of the-machine are mounted, said table being supportedupon legs 2. Journaled in bearings upon the table 1 is adriv ing' shaft3 to" which power is applied *from Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913..

nected with the driving haft 3 miter gears is a cam shaft 4- provldedwith a series of cams adapted to operate the mechanism for forming hooksupon the opposite ends-of the helical springs. Connected with thedriving shaft 3 by miter gears is a second shaft 5 upon which is mountedmeans for driving and locking astar wheel 6 carried upon one end of ashaft 7 journaled in bearings 8 and provided at its opposite end with adisk wheel 9. The star wheel 6 and its driving mechanism constitutes thewellknown Geneva stop motion and is therefore not herein shown ordescribed in detail. Its purpose is to impart an intermittent rotarymotion to the disk wheel 9. The disk wheel 9 is provided with a seriesof clamping mechanisms 10, equally spaced on the disk wheelcorresponding to the divisions of the star wheel 6, and arranged whenthe disk wheel 9 is at dest to hold one of the clamping mechanisms 10 inalinement with the feeding mechanism, another of the clamping mechanismsin alinement with the hooking mechanism, and a third clamping mechanismin alinement with the spring ejecting mechanism, the operative parts ofthe machine being arranged to simultaneously perform the threeoperations of feed ing a spring fto the disk wheel 9, forming hooks uponopposite ends of a spring previously fed to the disk wheel. and ejectinga completed spring from the disk wheel.

A continuous spiral coil, as represented at 11, Fig. 3, isintermittently fed to the machine a distance equal to the desired lengthof the helical springs. The feeding mechanism com ntises a pair of gears12 and 13 between which the coil 11 is passed. The teeth upon theconcave faces of the gears 12 and 13 are adapted to engage the spiralcoil 11 and by their rotary motion advance the spring a predetermineddistance. The

gears 12 and 13 are carried upon spindles 14 and 15 which are gearedtogether at their upper ends by gears 16 and 17. Attached to the gear 16is a disk 18 carrying on its under side a pawl 19 which engages aratchet wheel 2-0 turning loosely on the spindle 14-.

and connected with a gear 21 engaged by a rack 29.. The rack 22 isreciprocated in'one direction to feed the coil 11 by means of theswinging arm 23 contacting with a shoulder '24 onthe rack 22. Theswinging arm 233s pivoted at on the table 1. Projecting from thelowerend of the arm 23 is an arm 26 carrying a cam roll 27 which is heldin contact. with the periphery of a cam 28 by means of a spring 29connecting the arm 23 with the fixed framework of the machine...

The rack 22 is reversed by means of a spring 30 having one end coiledconcentrically to the pivot 25 and held by the framework while itsopposite or free end bears against a pin 31 held in the rack 22. Thereverse movement of the rack 22 is determined by an adjustable stop 32attached to the rack and arranged to contact with the framework of themachine. The intermittent motion imparted to the ratchet wheel 20 isconveyed through the pawl 19 to the feed wheels 12 and 13 in the properdirection to feed the coil 11, and the reverse motion of the feed wheelsis prevented by a friction pawl 33 acting upon the periphery of the disk18. The spindles 14 and 15 are journaled in clam )ing blocks 34 and 35which are drawn toget er by a spring 36' having one end pressing againstthe lock 34 and its opposite end against a collar 37 held upon a spindle38 slidable in the block 34 but attached to the block 35. The stop 32 isadjustably attached to the rack 22 to cause the coil 11 to be fedforward at. each intermittent movement of the feeding gears 12 and 13 adistance sufiicient for the desired length of the helical spring. Theforward movement of the coil 11 forces it through the clamping mechanism10 upon the disk wheel 9, said clamping mechanism comprising a fixed jaw39 and a pivoted jaw 40 held against the fixed jaw by a spring 41. Theopening between the jaws is beveled on one side to enable the advancingend of the coil 11 to separate the jaws.

Mounted in a stand 42 is a sliding arbor 43 adapted to loosely fit thebore of the coil 11.. The outer end of the arbor 43 is attached to ablock 44 which is pivotally connected by a link 45 with the upper end ofthe swinging arm 23. During the ad vanced movement of the coil 11 thearbor 43 is inserted within the coil and forms an anvil against whichthe pressure of a cutter for severing the coil is received.

The cutter 46 adapted to sever one of the coils in the spiral coil 11and is formed upon the end of a bar 47 adjustably'held by a screw 48 ina slide 49 sliding in ways 50, 50. The slide 49 is actuated to carry thecutter 46 against the coil by means of a lever 51 pivoted at 52 intheframework of the machine and carrying a cam roll 53 held in contact withthe periphery of a cam 54 by means of a spring 55 connecting the lever51 with a fixed point on the framework. At-, tached to the stand 42 isan angle iron 56 througl'i the end of which the arbor 43 passes, saidangle iron serving as a stripper to prevent the helical spring whensevered from the coil from becoming displaced as the arbor 43 iswithdrawn.

i The feeding mechanism, as above described, having been completed andthe helical spring severed from the coil, an intermittent movement isgiven to the disk wheel 9 and the operation thrice repeated until thefirst helical spring has been carried to a third station where itis heldin position to be operated upon by the hooking mechanism, which may beof any known and suitable form of construction for either shaping a hookat the ends of the spring, in the form shown in Fig. '9, Or for turningup the end coils in the spring to form hooks, as shown in Fig. 10.Comprised in the hooking mechanism, however, I provide means forpositioning the helical spring to bring its ends into proper alinementwith the hooking mechanism, and to allow for any slight difference inthe length of the springs due to a variation in the size of the wire.

The spring positioning mechanism, according to my present invention, isconstructed and operated as follows :Upon one side of the disk wheel 9are the hook forming membcrsfor one end of the spring, comprising a die57 rigidly held in a slide 58 sliding in fixed ways 59, and actuated bya rocking lever 60 pivoted to the slide 58 and carrying a cam roll 61held upon the periphery of a cam 62 by a spring 63. The free end of thedie 57 is notched as shown at 64, Fig. l, to engage one edge of the endcoil. The end coil is then turned up against the end of the die 57 bymeans of a die 65 held in a rigid position in a slide 66, which slidesin ways 67. The slide 66 is actuated by a rocking lever 68 pivotallyconnected by a link 69 with the slide 66 and carrying a cam roll 70 heldagainst the periphery of a cam 71 by a spring 72. A hook is formed uponthe opposite end of the helical spring by a similar notched die 73 and ahook forming die 74. The die 73 is carried by a slide 75 pivotallyconnected with a link 76 provided with a cam roll 77 held upon theperiphery of a cam 78 by a spring 79. The, die 74 is carried by a slide80 which is provided with a cam roll 81 held in contact with theperiphery of a cam 82 by a spring 83, shown in Fig. 7.

In Fig. 7 I have shown the normal position of the dies 73 and 74 as thehelical spring is carried by the disk wheel 9 into otally held therein,with the free end of the die 73 held in contact with the end ot-asliding plate 84 by means of a spiral spring 85. The free end of the die7 1 is held against an upwardly turned lip 86 on the sliding plate 84,by means of a blade spring 87., Back of the sliding plate 84 is asliding wedge 88 pivotally attached to a link 89 carrying a cam roll 90held on the periphery of a cam 91 by means of a spring 92. As soon asthe helical spring is brought between the hook forming mechanisms thesliding wedge 88 is advanced from the posi tion shown in Fig. 7 to thatshown in Fig. 1, causing the sliding plate 84 to be moved toward thediskwheel 9 pushing the die 73 against the end of the helical spring and.forcing the latter against the notched end of the die 57 whichhas'already beenad- 'ranced by its actuating cam in proper position toserve as a stop for theendwise movement of the helical spring. As thedie 73 is pushed laterally into the position shown in Fig. 1 by themovement of the sliding plate 84-, the die 74 is caused to follow themovement of the die 73 by means of a blade spring STwhich holds the die74 against the upturned lip 86, bringingboth the dies 73 and 74: intoposition to ooiiperate in forming a hook on the end of the helical.spring. Retraction of the hook forming dies frees the helical spring intime for the next intermittent movement of the disk wheel 9, by whichmovement the completed spring is carried to its fourth station, shown inFig. 8,'in which it is held in alinement, with an ejector rod 93 slidingin ways 94 in the framework. The end of the ejector rod 93 is engaged byone of the forked arms 95 of a bell-crank lever 96 pivoted upon a fixedstud 97, and having its opposite arm provided with a pin 98 engaged by afork 99 on the lower end of a plate 100 attached to the link 69. Therecipropating movement of the link 69 rocks the hell crank 96 to reciprocate the ejector rod 93 at'the proper period to force the finishedhelical spring 101 out of the disk wheel 9.

I claim,

1. In a machine of'the class described, a feeding mechanism comprising apair of gears adapted to engage the coils of a helical spring, means forsupporting a continuous helical spring in aline ncnt with said gears,and means for imparting an inter-mil tent rotary motion to said gears.

2.111 a machine of the class described, a feeding mechanism comprising apair of gears provided withfteeth adapted to engage the individual coilsof a helicalspring, means fUPlInPflYl/ll'lg an intermittent rotarymotion to said gears, and means for dclermining. the amplitude of theirmovement.

In a machine of the class described, a. feeding mechanism comprisingpair of gears provided with teeth adapted to simultaneously engage theindividual coils of a helical spriiig on opposite sides of the spring,means for imparting an intermittent rotary motion simultaneously to saidgears, and means fordcternnnmg the extent of each intermittentu.ovement.

i. In a machine of the class described, means for feeding a continuoushelical spring a prcdctcrmincd distance, means tor inscrting an arborinto the advanced end of the s n'ingby a moveinhnhin a direction oppositc the movement ofthe spring. a reciprocating cutter coiipcratingwith the arbor to sever one of the coils of the spring, means foractuating said cutter, and means for withdrawing the arbor by a reversemove-- ment from the severed spring.

5. In a machine of the class described, a feeding mechanism for feedinga continuous helical spring comprising a pair of gears provided withteeth adapted to engage the individual coils of the spring on oppositesides, means for imparting an intermittent rotary motion to said gears,and yielding means for pressing said gears against opposite sides of thespring.

6. In a machine of the class described, a rotatable disk wheel, clampingmechanism carried by said wheel, means for feeding the end of acontinuous helical spring into said clamping mechanism transversely tosaid disk wheel, means for severing the contin uous spring to formindividual springs, means for imparting an intermittent rotary motion tosaid disk wheel, ,and means for locking said disk Wheel duringits periodof rest. 1 I

7. In a machine of the class described, a rotatable disk wheel, clampingmechanism carried by said wheel, means for feeding individual springsinto said clamping mechanismtransversely to said disk wheel, means forimparting an intermittent rotary motion to said disk wheel, and meansfor moving each the springs lengthwise in clamping mpchanisms into apredetermined position ta bring its ends into alinement with hookforming mechanisms. -z

8. In a machine of the class described, a rotatable disk wheel providedwith for holding a helical spring transversely to said wheel, means forpushing the spring lengthwise in said disk wheel to bring its ends inalinement with hoolr forming mechanisms on opposite sides of said diskwheel, and means for forming books on opposite ends-of the spring.

9. rotatable disk wheel provided with means for holding a helical springtransversely to said wheel with its ends projecting therefrom, means forimpartin an intermittent rotary motion to said disk wheel, means forlocking said wheel during its periodof rest,

means In a machine of the class described, a

a 'pair of sliding hook forming dies on one side of said disk wheel,means for actuating said dies in stationary Ways to form a hook on oneend of thespring, a second pair of sliding hook forming dies on theopposite side of said disk wheel, means for imparting a lateral.movement to said second dies against the end of the spring, and meansfor actuating said second pair of dies to form a hook on the oppositeend of the spring.

10. In a machine of the class described, a rotatable disk wheel providedwith clamping, mechanisms for holding helical springs transversely tosaid wheel, means for feeding springs into said clamping mechanisms, 15means for imparting an intermittent rotary motion to said disk wheel,means for locking said disk wheel durin its period of rest, means forforming hoo on the ends of the spring, and means for ejecting the spring20 from its clamping mechanisms.

FRANK H. SLEEPER.

Witnesses N ELLIE WHALEN, RUFUS B. FOWLER.

